Shloka 11
Brāhmaṇa-kṛtya, Āśrama-niyama, and Dāna-prasaṃsā
Duties of the Brāhmaṇa, āśrama discipline, and praise of giving
यत्र यत्रैव संयुक्तो धात्रा गर्भे पुन: पुनः । तत्र तत्रैव वसति न यत्र स्वयमिच्छति
yatra yatraiva saṁyukto dhātrā garbhe punaḥ punaḥ | tatra tatraiva vasati na yatra svayam icchati ||
Bhishma sprach: „Wo immer der Schöpfer (Dhatr) das verkörperte Wesen immer wieder einem Mutterleib zuweist, dort muss es wieder und wieder verweilen. Wo es selbst zu wohnen wünscht, dort vermag es nicht zu bleiben; so wird der Lauf der Seele vom Ordner bestimmt, nicht von bloßer Neigung.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that rebirth and one’s embodied circumstances are allotted by the cosmic ordainer in accordance with karmic law; personal preference alone cannot override that dispensation. Ethically, it encourages humility, acceptance, and a turn toward right action rather than mere wishing.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction, Bhishma is advising Yudhishthira on deeper principles behind human experience. Here he emphasizes how beings are repeatedly placed into particular births (wombs) by the Creator/Ordainer, highlighting the constrained agency of the individual within saṁsāra.